A Second Chance (WIP)
by kingzombiethe1st
Summary: A oneshot depicting Carl's, Russell's, and Ellie's relationships. Relation to Dragonball at the end. Might be updated.


**Certain characters, ideas, places, and things are not under my ownership. Please don't sue me Disney/Toei Animation/Akira Toryiama/Pixar/etc!**

He never achieved their dreams. Carl and Ellie, the match made in heaven, could never reach together for what they wanted so dearly. Convinced that, at the very least, they had each other. They moved on anyway, leaving behind orange decaying leaves representative of their dreams to rot in the soil. Every time they saved up to get to Paradise Falls, tragedy struck them. But for every tragedy, they grew closer. They were the best of friends, Carl and Ellie, lovers in everything they did. It was early summer when Carl finally saved up for those plane tickets to Venezuela, where Paradise Falls lie in wait, that tragedy struck once again as the cashier exchanged the change for the tickets. Carl invited Ellie to a picnic, just the two of them, and before the sun finally set, he would surprise her again! A new adventure would await, him and Ellie!

She fell five feet away from the tree they always daydreamed at that late afternoon. It was a long car ride to the hospital, one that Carl would have never hoped to have passed. "Why couldn't it just be me!" Carl anguished. But, there was no way to change what had happened. Ellie looked into Carl's eyes. His grey hair, wrinkled face, aged with joy, not anger, shone in the bright cabin of the ambulance.

Three weeks later, Carl returned to the hospital after a small amount of work at the zoo. It wasn't hard for Carl to return home with reddened eyes and salted cheeks, and today was no different. However, the significant nature of today's visit was that he brought a special book for Ellie, on her last day of adventure in this life. She insisted that she had updated her log inside the book and pushed it toward Carl, who had read the thing possibly a literal thousand times, and could find no real difference. The last page was unusually thick, but everything was exactly the same. She coughed, her voice meeker than normal, lacking the beauty it always carried. Her songs were now a dull whisper, the world crashing and burning, the citizens of the world crying for their dear cruel God. This was her eleventh hour. Carl held back his tears for her as her eyes, once filled with life, finally gave way under the intense pressure of cancer, and other diseases.

His life, then forth, was filled with sorrow. Family had attended the funeral, but they were all those who could barely remember their lives. Carl's father and mother, with no siblings in tow, had lived peaceful lives just like his own. The same goes for Ellie, however she had a few cousins and siblings who had wed and have children, almost like a mockery toward their past. The funeral didn't help. It hurt, and it hurt deeply. They spent so much time together! Yet, all of that was swept away by time.

* * *

Carl was going to die. It wasn't going to be then, it was sooner, rather than later. He had luckily watched Russell grow into a fine young teenager. Unlike all the other badmouthed boys who would take ten girls and stay only with one, Russell was polite, and kept one and his studies. Unlike his stupid childhood, his early teens were much of the opposite. Taking his experience of going around the world, he had gotten a degree in Physics before he would even normally get into high school! Of course, Carl had something to do with it. After a good week of Russell lazying around, Carl urged Russell to start tinkering. Russell tinkered, and Russell continued to tinker, so eventually it was natural for Russell to start getting interested into science. By age 13, the boy's experiences and adventure five years ago had gotten him a nice passion for physics. Meanwhile, Carl was getting prouder and prouder of Russell. Never before had the boy exploited his talent as so! His father, with his girlfriend Phyllis, had mostly supported him throughout the process, but only coming through for him during award ceremonies and such. With Carl's help, Russell finally managed to find his mother a respectable balding, kind man who treated her well. It was during the wedding Bob had finally revealed that he was a millionaire, and with his mother's and stepfather's help, he got into a very nice private school.

Cancer had finally gotten to him too. It wasn't honestly too bad, but Carl took it as a sign that he were destined to go to Ellie. The cancer had reached Stage 4, and Carl was taking his last breath beside Russell.

"Listen..." Carl rasped, his voice aged so much more from the last five years, "Our adventure, our journey..." It was hard to speak, under the boulders that seemingly held his chest down. "It was the best..." Carl gasped for more air to speak. "You're like..." Russell's tears welled up. He couldn't contain the sorrow. His adventuring partner, who had cleared his family's wounds, finally had fallen. "the son I never had..." Carl breathed again, this time more staggered. "Ellie would be..." he gasped, "proud..." It was then Russell let out the waterfalls that were contained beneath his eyelids. The heart monitor however, did not reflect the same interpretation, as it was still beeping. Carl let off one final smile, and looked him straight in the eyes. At his bedside was a much bigger 'My Life's Adventures', except, it had detailed Carl's life, and his adventure with Russell. Carl picked up the book with the strength he could muster, and gave it to Russell, whose hands graciously accepted the gift. Despite being in bed, the action was a impressive feat for Carl.

* * *

Russell was forty. He had kids now, his childhood wife bearing a amazing four. Two girls, two boys. Perfect condition, all amazing in their own way. Russell worked at NASA, conducting numerous space expeditions, bringing the new frontier to space. He eventually left his job, and worked at a business named Capsule Corp. Every time he made a new discovery, a new landing, his eyes would gloss over 'My Life's Adventures'. Being at his age, Russel had a hard time crying. But whenever he read the book, waterworks flowed. Russell never knew what he'd lost until Carl was ripped from his world. That small, angry old man was the same man who taught him advanced algebra, thermodynamics, and aerodynamics.

It didn't take long for word of the Dragonballs to spread. Their magical power, the wish granting amazing potential it garners. After seeing the use of the Dragonballs personally, Russell had his mind set. With the help of his young, with wife in tow, he'd grant what Carl and himself had yearned for so long; _A second chance._

 **That's all folks! It's a first, but I want to hear thoughts on it! If they're is any inconsistencies, anecdotes, or advice you'd like to give, please leave a review! I know that our Earth and DBZ's Earth are different, but I couldn't figure out a good, solid way to merge both realities.**


End file.
